A Wolf in Fox's Clothing
by SpaceWolfWarrior
Summary: In order to save his comrades' life, Wolf O'Donnell has to become someone he has never imagined to be - Fox McCloud.
1. Identity Crisis

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 1 - Identity Crisis**

My name is Wolf O'Donnell, leader of Star Wolf, and the eternal rival of Fox McCloud.

I felt cold metal. It felt like I was lying down on some metal plane. My hands and limbs were restrained tightly. My head was spinning. I was... naked. All I recalled was that my team and I were going to a rendezvous point after taking a mission from someone named Doctor Lander when all of a sudden, some big explosion knocked us all out.

"Star Wolf," a voice cracked. "Finally, you have awakened."

I want to respond, but I was too weak. All I could do was very shot words. I looked around. Aside from the white room with a large monitor, all I saw was a sickly raccoon.

"Who...?"

"Doctor Lander, your client," he giggled. Next time, I should double-check my clients before taking their deals. "Well, now that you've awakened, we could discuss the job I am about to give you."

"What... made... think...?" What made him think that I would still accept his job after doing this to us? Speaking of which... where are Panther and Leon?

"What is it?" he jerked. "Oh, nothing? Okay! In any case, my job for you is simple." He pushed a button, showcasing some sort of various classified information. Something in the monitor made me miss a heartbeat. It showed... Aparoids? "Familiar? Yes, yes, Aparoids. You see, I learned some dirty little secret in the Cornerian government when I was working in there. While you and Star Fox team destroyed these bugs, the Cornerian government was able to acquire one small Aparoid. It died when the Queen was destroyed, but the government was able to save the DNA profile of the bug. They recreated it in a small machine sealed within their laboratory."

"Sh-sh-shi..."

"Indeed, they kept it a shi-cret!" Damn. "The public would go ballistic should they hear this!"

"Why... do... you... think... I'll... do...?"

"Oh? Simple," he muttered, pushing a button. The monitor changed to a camera view of... oh my goodness... Panther and Leon! They were stripped off, chained and heavily wounded. Who was that brown figure with them, who was also receiving a similar treatment? "They are currently recovering from the explosion, but I could cut their treatment and enforce them some... shock! If you don't cooperate, I'll kill them. I might provide some medical institutes with new bodies for autopsy!" He was diabolically insane! "Oh... and that one is Fox McCloud. He was alone when I sent a distress signal, and boom!" Fox? That bastard.

"Why... Fox... too?"

"Let's just say he is as important to the mission as you are," he grinned. "Now I know you aren't much inclined in saving him as opposed to your comrades, but I'll still kill him if you don't do the job. After all, without Fox, there won't be a rival for Star Wolf!" Curse him!

"So... what... does... this... have to... do...?"

"You'll sneak in and steal the thing for me," he continued. "I'll give you a week to do that, by the way. If you give it to me within a week, I'll set your friends free. If you fail... well... you know what happens!"

"What... Fox... have... to...?"

"Well, Fox McCloud is the most celebrated person in Corneria, right? Don't you think he will get privileges quite easily as opposed to some normal soldier, or you?" Obviously, but then why me? If he knew that, then wouldn't he be luring Fox only?

"Why... not... him...?"

"Because he lacks the skill! He lacks the experience! He lacks the grit!" he suddenly shouted. "You, my lupine friend, on the other hand, have experienced the terror throbbing in your heart! Every second counts for you, especially in a dirty, dangerous situation!" Wait, what?

"Wha... How...?"

"You haven't heard of plastic surgery have you, Wolf?" His words made me shiver. My fur stood still, shocked. I had a feeling I knew what he would do to me. "Yes... yes! Bleaching your fur, while painful, will do the trick! Changing the retina pattern, even recovering your left eye, is quite a simple task for me. Your tail has a split? I will simply stitch it back!" How... horrible! That idea wanted to make me vomit!

"No... No... Please..."

"You have no choice, Wolf. Unless you are a cold-hearted bastard that everyone seems to think, I don't think you could bear the idea of your comrades and Fox screaming in pain as they cling to their last breath!"

Suddenly, a stream of electricity blasted into me. It was so painful! I shouted so loud, hoping that someone would save me - some miracle would occur to pull me out of this. It knocked me off my head. It was too much to bear. My eyes slowly died, as well as my consciousness. The last thing I felt was liquid running onto my fur... my skin. I felt a prick from my shoulder, but soon everything faded away.

"Remember, Wolf, just one week. Or they die."


	2. Fox McCloud

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 2 - Fox McCloud**

"_Remember, Wolf, that I will be observing you using an automatic, external micro-cam that is synchronized to your brain pattern. It follows wherever you are, and it will always be active as long as you are conscious. If you dare to even tell your condition to others, I shall blow you up with a micro-bomb somewhere in your skull. Oh, and these three will die. You only have one week to deliver the Aparoid copy to me. Once you have gotten it, you will take a ship to Sector Z, where we shall meet._"

His voice crept in my mind. He knew I was still breathing, despite my lifeless body.

My head felt numb. My body went through very painful operations, and I could feel the pain prickle even though some sort of anesthetics was applied to me. I wished that sometime during the operation, my body would cease to function. I could not handle the hurt that was being done to me - stitching, metal blades, chemicals, everything. The only thing the anesthetics did was to lessen the infliction. I would otherwise have gone mad. I couldn't lose though - Leon and Panther were dying, and if I fail, they die. Fox would die too. While I never cared for his sake, it would be a dishonor to our rivalry if he lost his life through this.

"_Now then... this should complete the process..._"

I was breathing hard... I was trying to struggle... I was... GAH! THE PAIN! MAKE IT STOP!

"_Farewell, Wolf! Remember, your friends and rival rely on your success! Hahahah!_"

Light... One big flash of light. My consciousness went off for a while. I couldn't hear anything. All I could felt was some sort of clothing covering me which was getting damp. Something was stuck in my muzzle - it was sort of like... an oxygen mask? My body was getting colder as well, as tear from the clothing allowed cold to seep in.

"_Oh my... Hurry, pick him up! He's severely wounded!_"

What? That voice... It was an old man's voice. Peppy? Why would Peppy be in the doctor's laboratory? No... wait... I was not in the doctor's place anymore!

"_He's bleeding badly!_"

Bleeding... badly? What happened to me?

"_Fox?_"

My name? Fox?

"_Fox?_"

No, it's Wolf.

"_Fox's gonna be okay. I'll have the best doctors to treat him as soon as possible._"

I said Wolf!

Another white flash hit me. I wanted to wake up from this slumber, but I couldn't. My body was too weak to stand up. Was it because Fox's body was really this weak, or was it because I really didn't want to move? Fox... Would I be disturbed a lot when people call me Fox?

"_Hey Fox!_"

They weren't calling me - they were calling for Fox. They probably thought he was missing or something. I might as well confront them though. I never knew how Fox would interact with them - and acting like a stereotypical do-gooder wouldn't help at all. I opened my eyes and saw them - Falco, Krystal, Slippy, and Peppy, all glancing at me.

"You're all right, eh?"

"Sorta," I responded with a really low tone. I realized that the doctor didn't fix my voice to copy Fox's. Although, I must admit, he was quite skilled that he was able to fix my left eye. I moved my arm a bit, glancing the back of my hand, now with brown fur, using both of my eyes. "I am... fine..."

"Well Fox, you should recover quite fast!" the old hare noted at me. "You didn't have serious injuries save from larynx damage, so you'd be off in this place by tomorrow! You'll just have to get used at your deep voice." Deep voice... larynx damage... Didn't they ever think that I could be Wolf because of my voice?

"That's... good news..."

I knew I was giving everyone odd feelings. I could feel it that there was some uncertainty within them, no matter how small it was. But because I looked like Fox, they put their uncertainties aside.

"So," Krystal asked me, looking me at the eye, "what happened to you, Fox? You said last time that you were just gonna meet with someone. You said it was a doctor who asked for some help." I nodded for a bit to try to make up some scenario. I couldn't blurt out something that would endanger me and those three at the doctor's base.

"Ambushed," I spoke back. "We were... ambushed. The doctor was killed. I... I fought a large group of space bandits alone..."

"Oh my, that is terrible!" Slippy croaked. "No wonder your Arwing is damaged severely! It is some sort of damage meteor showers couldn't do!" It looked like I got lucky this time.

I was still confused though. The idea of pretending somebody physically and socially... it made me felt torn apart - as if I was betraying my own identity.

"Fox? Something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine, Peppy." I told him. I needed some time alone. "Guys... would you mind if you... I mean... I want to be alone for a while."

"Uh... sure, if you say so," the vixen said before looking at the others. Upon leaving, she told me, "Fox, if something is bothering you, you could tell me, or any of us. We are willing to help you out."

"Y-yeah, okay."

When they left the room, I stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. I glanced myself at the mirror. The reflection scared me - I was looking at Fox McCloud - me. I touched the mirror with my hand, and touched my face with the other. It felt so real that it gave me a terrifying reality check. I forced my head not to look at the mirror further, closing my eyes in the process. But the reflection kept on pulling me.

"Farewell, Wolf?" I told myself.

I closed my eyes once more before taking a deep breath.

"I am... Fox McCloud. Leader of... Star Fox."


	3. Orientation

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 3 - Orientation**

An hour had passed. It was getting boring when they were talking outside while I remained on the bed. I shouldn't linger in this room any more. One week might sound long, but to me, it wasn't. I couldn't mess this one up, otherwise they might die. Besides, I felt better - breathing was the best thing that happened to me. A nurse did come and took off the dextrose and some medicine that was attached into my hand, but otherwise nothing happened.

"You're not going anywhere, Fox," Falco scolded me as soon as I opened the door, "we're still not sure if you're one-hundred percent fine!" He was getting in my way! I had no time for this!

"Out of my way, bird!" I growled at him. Everyone suddenly made a strange glare at me, even the bird. I almost forgot that I was Fox. "Will you please move?" He remained at the doorway, crossing his arms and grinning. I wanted to punch him when he persisted on blocking the pathway, but I realized that I was supposed to act like Fox. I calmed down for a bit, recollected the things that someone like Fox would do, and breathed out. "All right, Falco... Would you please get out of my way?"

"Fox, you're not yet fully recovered," Peppy told me, "you don't have to worry much though - this is the Cornerian National Hospital after all. Leave the bills to me." How nice of him, though that wouldn't help me a lot.

Wait. Did he just say Cornerian National Hospital? As far as I knew, the hospital was just a few blocks away from the City Capitol, the main government office. The Aparoid thing might just be hiding within the research section of the building. If I couldn't get out of this place, I might as well have a look at the interior of the place.

"It's... it's boring here though," I told them, making them nod. "I need to get out for a while."

"Well, you aren't going anywhere without us!" Slippy croaked. What? I didn't want any chaperon. "You're still recovering, Fox!"

I was somehow losing it. I couldn't bear to hold my anxiousness and annoyance anymore. "I'm fine, darn it!" I yelled at them. "I can walk, I can talk, I can punch, I can kill! I am breathing air here and that's quite much of a sign that I am fine!" I slammed my palm at a nearby table, making a loud noise and startling everyone, including the nurses and some patients outside the room. "Damn it all!"

"Fox," Krystal spoke back to me with a calm voice. I guess she was trying to ease me a bit, but no, "I know you wanted to get off of this place but..."

"No!" I pushed her off. What... what the hell was I doing? Even I wasn't this violent! "Ugh... Leave me alone."

"Something's bothering you, Fox?" Falco asked. "Look, we're here, you could tell us what's wrong." Yeah, I would tell you what was wrong, then making my head blow up, thus taking down everyone in this hospital. Oh, and my team and your leader Fox would get killed too. The pressure was just too much for me to handle! I had to move! I could not hesitate to act!

"Nothing's wrong," I assured them. However, I knew they could feel my anguish. "Look... Couldn't I just... have a walk or something?"

"We'll go with you," the bird tapped my shoulder.

"Fine then," I sighed. "I hope you won't get bored though. I want to see the inside of the Capitol."

"You wanted to see the what?" Slippy suddenly asked. Yeah, I didn't think even Fox would go there. There was really nothing to see there, anyway. "You sure about that, Fox? The place is a lot more boring than this room!"

"Yes, I want to."

"Well," the rabbit told me, holding his hand out, "if you really want to, I'll get us in. And just to make sure you won't get bored, I'll show the _exciting_ places!" I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me off of the bed. "I am the general after all, heh!" I chuckled for a bit. Casually using power like that, how fun...

I clothed myself with Fox's casual wear. I expected that they were tight - I was bigger than him after all. "My, my, looks like someone's secretly pumping!" Falco joked at my back.

"I'll just get newer clothes. They probably shrunk or something," I excused. Well, at least the doctor didn't shrink my muscles or something. "For now, they'll do."

As I thought, the place wasn't very far. It was just walking distance after all. After a quick analysis of the exterior, I could tell that aside from the fire exit, getting in was only through the main entrance or the back entrance - both of which had heavily-armed guards. The presence of Peppy tamed the guard dogs, and well, Fox's, or rather, my public figure made them feel at ease.

"So what is this exciting place you are going to show me?" I asked, calmly looking at the passing guards who were giving me salutations. I wasn't really used at that, to be quite honest. When I met a soldier, it was usually during an escort mission or a conflict mission. Either way I never liked their smug attitudes, whether they were ally or foe.

"The science department, where else?" he smiled at me, as if he could read my mind. "Didn't you want to see that place, particularly the research department? You were bugging me and James about taking you there when you were a kid!" Kid? I... I never even recall my childhood life.

"You said it would be exciting!" Falco suddenly complained. To be quite honest, I thought the place sounds boring, that I wouldn't really be visiting it if it weren't for the thing I had to retrieve.

"Well, it is!"

After passing some hallway, we took the elevator. Peppy pressed B3 - third floor basement. I had to remember that. As we exited the elevator, I saw glass walls with scientists managing computers, paperwork, and some machines. Another thing that caught my attention was the number of guards - they were around thirty, and they had armed weapons.

"So what's so exciting about this place?" Krystal asked Peppy. "Not to be rude, but the place seems so... common."

"You'll see!"

After Peppy slid his ID into a console and inputted some key combination, which I noticed as 1-6-5-1-6-1-6-2-7, he burst out, "Here you go!"

The room was filled with various machines being tested and created. They were quite big and... interesting. For some odd reason I felt really, really light, especially when I saw Falco, Slippy and Krystal acting like young children. Somehow, I wanted to join them. Something kept on pulling me though - maybe because I couldn't even recall the slightest of my childhood days.

"Wow, Peppy, you never told me the government hides awesome stuff like this!" Falco shouted as he rode some sort of prototype, non-dangerous rocket. I chuckled a bit when I saw the scientists trying to stop him.

"Hey, come and join us, Fox!" Slippy called me. I saw him and Krystal playing some sort of multi-dimensional chess using regenerative blocks. "It's for four players!" It really looked fun, but something didn't make me go over there.

"N...no thanks," I shook my head.

"Something wrong, Fox?" Peppy asked.

"No... I'm... fine."

"General!" A fat badger suddenly stormed in, with some other scientists following him. Judging by his cleaner robes and nametag, he was the head of the place. "Pardon me, General Peppy, but... you know this is a restricted section... and we can't have them running around like that...!" He sounded like some sort of eccentric, effeminate person. "Please make them..." He took notice of Falco. "GET DOWN FROM THERE, YOU BIRD!"

"All right, sorry for the intrusion," Peppy apologized. "I forgot you were working on something in the laboratory." Working on something? What was that? "Everyone, let's leave!"

"Aww... and I was just getting started!"

When we were leaving, I saw them entering at the room with a huge red RESTRICTED AREA sign on top of the door frame. My hunch told me that the room has the thing I am looking for.

It was already afternoon, and I was discharged. When I got to Fox's room at the condominium exclusive for Star Fox, I saw some shopping bags. Falco had bought me some new clothes, apparently. They looked... nice, actually.

I then saw a picture of Fox when he was young, holding and hugging his mother and father. I never felt so much envy, that a tear dropped from my new left eye.


	4. As Fox

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 4 - As Fox**

_I was only ten. I was holding hands with someone. He was a tall brown fox. He wore a pair of shades. We were enjoying a trip to the carnival. Suddenly, it rained in fire. Everyone died. The person I was holding hands with - the tall person - burned. I heard his scream - everyone's scream. Then in front of me I saw another image of myself... Wait, it was Fox. He looked like me... No, I looked like him. I was pretending to be him. He then burned in the fire. His hand tried to reach me. I tried to grab him, but the flames only grew bigger._

I woke up quite early. I didn't want to sleep any longer. A very strange dream haunted me. I looked at my palm, hoping that it wasn't burned. No, it wasn't. It was just a dream. Why did I dream of it?

I glanced at the end table to my right. It was filled with pictures. They always... distracted me. I stood up from the bed and looked at them. The images... they taunted me. They made envious of him. He and James were enjoying their time. I... I had no idea how having a family felt like... on what experience was having a childhood life with a mother or father. All I got was a blank memory, something I never tried to recall.

I sat on the bed, holding the picture. I saw his face - happy face. Enjoying his father's company, Fox had the best day of his life. I could interpret it from the image. Something inside me wanted to have that feeling. I was getting envious.

"Fox? You okay?"

The door knocked. Who could that be at this early hour?

"Come in."

"I felt tension," the blue vixen told me. I could see her worried face. "Normally, I never dared to sense the psyche of other people to respect their privacy, but Fox, yours were getting too tense. Is something bothering you?" Oh my... I forgot that she was a psychic. I just hoped the doctor wouldn't be able to figure out that. If she could read my mind, then she could possibly tell that I wasn't the real Fox. If the doctor noticed that, then the mission would be a failure. "Fox, you can tell me."

I had to lie. "Sorry... It's nothing... really."

"You're lying, Fox," she told me, holding my hand. I never had felt such tenderness for a long time. The last time I felt this was... actually, I couldn't remember. "If you can't get this out of your chest, then it will bother you for the rest of your life."

I couldn't tell her that I was getting envious. I couldn't even tell her that I was me - Wolf. Trying to make out a lie was harder though. I had to make it seem real. "I... I... I miss my father..." That felt quite deep. Even if it was a lie, it really touched me, as if I really felt it. I wanted to have a father. I wanted to feel that I had a father who raised me. "I... I want _my_ father..."

"Well... I know it's hard, because you love your father," she whispered. Her voice was quite endearing. It reminded me of someone. It was quite a blank memory but it felt like I had experienced it. "But what made me wonder is... well... why did you suddenly miss him? Sorry to ask... I mean, I know you love him, but haven't you moved on?"

Fox had. I... I was not sure if I had moved on or not. "I... I am not sure..." I was quite surprised really. I had taunted Fox a lot about his father, about how he would join and how he wouldn't be able to reach his caliber, but it never occurred to me this feeling. I never asked myself about my own father or mother. "I... I don't know really. It suddenly just bothered me."

"I... I see," she nodded. I felt her grasp tightening. Now I remembered - it was from my caring mother's touch. How could I forget it? Why did I forget it? "I can't really help you if you don't know what's bothering you. But... if I were you, I'd try not to think about it too much. You'll feel better if you think of happy things." Happy things, eh? "You know, like hanging around with us." I just wish I could. "By the way, breakfast's done. Everybody's waiting."

I looked at the picture a bit before returning it. I realized how painful it was trying to be someone. It was something like experiencing secrets that they had hidden - even those painful secrets. Maybe becoming Fox was not really a good idea after all.

I walked outside from my room - it was one big condominium unit for Star Fox members after all. I saw everyone at the dining table, enjoying their meal. I was still a bit nervous on how to approach them.

I took a seat at the table and looked at the fried hotdogs and steak before trying to make a morning greeting. "Morning... T-thanks for the clothes, Falco. They were... nice."

"S'okay, Fox!" he laughed as he nibbled on a piece of sausage. "You know where I get my stuff, and I thought I'd share them with you! Besides, you really never had a good fashion sense!" I made a fake chuckle, although I was sure Fox would make some comment as well.

"Oh well," Slippy croaked, "we rarely usually spend time in this place... and I miss Peppy!" He finished his sandwich and looked at me. "Right, Fox? Breakfast isn't the same without Peppy." I should really need to get used on answering things quickly.

"Y-yeah, it was nice... He... umm..."

"Heh, don't tell me you miss his usual rant with the morning paper while sipping coffee from his mug!" Krystal laughed. She saved me again. "Anyway, we're lucky we're taking a break... I wanna take this opportunity to go to some movies! I've invited Katt, Bill and Dash, and even Panther." Panther eh? It looked like despite having feelings for Fox, she still counted him as a friend. "It's sort of weird that Panther hasn't called back, though. That's not like him."

"He won't answer." Oh crap.

"Huh?"

Everybody suddenly looked at me. I wanted to shoot myself for blurting out like that. I couldn't tell them that Panther, Leon, and even Fox were captured. "He won't answer... yet. Maybe Wolf's doing some things?"

"I see," she sighed. She looked... disappointed? No, her face was showing worry. But why would she feel worried?

The room suddenly alarmed. "Urgent call from General Peppy!" Slippy shouted. He pushed a button, revealing the hare's hologram.

"Star Fox, are you all well?"

Oh, I was supposed to reply. "We're... fine, general. What seems to be the trouble?"

"We got trouble at the space zone near Corneria. There is a hostage situation going on at the moment at a public transport ship. Some space bandits were able to get in our security."

"Why couldn't the police or any special forces handle it?" Oh crud. Fox wouldn't hesitate to save them.

"We are trying to control the situation, Fox, but they have hostages on-board. We need to send a surprise rescue unit - or units at this matter."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Falco blitzed out. "We have to do something! Fox, let's go!"

Why did I feel slow? Normally I would be prepped up like the bird. "I... I am going General. Team, move out."


	5. My Mission

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 5 - My Mission**

I was a bit nervous. I had never experienced saving someone from hostages. The closest thing I had were escort missions, and usually it wasn't on a personal level and that the client was usually on safe hands.

"Something wrong, Fox?" Falco asked. "Feeling a little nervous?"

"Sorta... well... with someone's life hanging..."

"Don't worry, we'll do our best," Krystal told me with an assured look. I simply nodded and headed to the hangar where the Arwings are docked. The feeling of nervousness hadn't left me.

I hadn't ridden or piloted an Arwing before. I was a bit nervous whether I'd screw up. Luckily, the console of the Arwing resembled much like the Wolfen, and it seemed that it was controlled similarly, so I might not have much of a problem. I hopped into the seat, releasing a heavy breath first before holding the control stick. "Prepare to take off." I pushed some buttons, causing the engines and the gravity-diffusing to start. The Arwing did fly like a Wolfen.

"All right, activate stealth!" Slippy commanded. Stealth? Arwings had stealth? It wasn't long before I realized that my ship was the only one that still hadn't go invisible. "Fox, activate the stealth!" Which button, which button? Darn!

"Fox... it's the right button near the missiles control," Krystal again told me. "You okay, Fox? Is something the matter?"

"I probably forgot about it." I was getting worried however. She had saved me a lot of times recently - that she might actually knew that I was only pretending to be Fox. Hopefully, I was wrong.

I pushed the button, activating the stealth mode. We soon finally reached the public transportation ship that had the hostage activity. Various enforcer ships had circled and cornered the transportation ship, but the cops couldn't do a thing when the hostage criminals kept on threatening that they would kill a passenger. My hands were getting sweaty. I should probably think of this as an escort mission, only with the client in grave danger.

"All right," I calmly told the other three, "we'll secretly dock into the transport ship and try to take the down the criminals inside. Hopefully, all of the crooks are in the room with the hostages." Our ships quickly made its way into the docking area. Strangely enough, the place wasn't secured. "Looks like I was right. Everyone of them are in the room after all." We jumped off of our ships and grabbed what we needed - flash grenades, stun bombs, suppressed blasters... My heart kept on pounding though. Would Fox feel the same thing if he was in my place right now?

We scurried around, hugging the walls and keeping a low profile. We passed some empty rooms, but I could feel that they were getting closer. I was getting a lot more tensed. I finally heard voices. They were the criminals, talking something about cash demands and such to a negotiator via holographic call. It made me think for a bit, wondering how normal people could compare these criminals to hired mercenaries like us. At least we mercenaries worked hard for our cash. These people simply resort to lowly activities like stealing.

"Hey... Fox... FOX!" I was suddenly startled. I should really learn how to focus more as Fox. "Fox... get a hold of yourself!" the bird whispered. "Any ideas here?" I touched the various objects hanging on my belt. I grabbed a flash grenade and showed it to him. "How many?"

"We'll be needing three," I told them. I thought it'd be easier if they would get confused from the sudden burst, reducing their chances for a good reaction. "And we'll be needing two of these," I grabbed a stun grenade, just in case they would do something dangerous, like shooting around wildly while being blinded. There is a risk that the hostages would get stunned in the process as well, but the crooks would also get stunned so there wouldn't be much of a problem.

"All right then... on three."

My heart beat slowly.One. Two...

"Three."

I rolled one flash grenade carefully on the floor. It wasn't long before some of the criminals took notice of that, but they were too late. A white flash erupted in the room, blinding everyone. Krystal and Slippy hurled theirs as well, creating confusion. Both hostages and the crooks were shouting.

"Crap, who did this?!"

I had a feeling something might went wrong. I quickly signaled Falco to throw his stun grenade. We both hurled our grenades to the ground, releasing a powerful shock within their radius. Several of the crooks and some of the hostages fell flat on the floor. It looked like I miscalculated for a bit though. As the flash disintegrated, I still saw three more standing.

"They're down, Eddie! Son of a-"

The quiet firing of my blaster pierced through his chest. Farewell to him. Two more still remained. One of them was already pulling a hostage.

"Not a chance," Falco whispered, firing the arm of the raccoon. The raccoon's arm wasn't the only thing that dropped. He rolled another stun bomb, which he then fired with his blaster to activate it as quickly as possible. "That should do it!" One of them dropped down flat on the floor while the other slammed his head on what seemed to be a console for the transport ship.

We quickly hurried to rescue the hostages. I was feeling a bit anxious - we were successful in bringing them down, but we weren't down yet - for some odd reason I felt excited about it. However, I was too excited. I didn't hear the cracking and sizzling of the console where one of the crooks crashed onto.

"Oh my, Fox, get out!" Slippy warned me. I pushed off the hostages, but it was long before the console exploded, and I got my head slammed with the desk debris. Goodbye, poor crook.

"Fox!" Falco shouted, but his voice was fading.

"Fox!" Krystal cried out, but I couldn't hear her voice.

"Fox!" Slippy tried to get me off of the debris, but he couldn't.

My last visions were the hostages I pushed off getting on to their feet. I was getting weaker. The heavy thing knocked my head quite strongly, that my vision was fading. My hearing was weakening. All I could hear were the repetitions of Fox's name.

"No! Quickly, save him!"

"Get those things off of him, Falco!"

"I'm trying, Slippy! Agh, call an ambulance!"

How ironic that I'd end up again at the hospital... if I could survive this.


	6. Tick Tock

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 6 - Tick Tock**

I floated to some void. My consciousness was lost. I couldn't feel myself. I drifted and drifted to some sort of blank plane. The weirdest thing was that... I saw myself as Fox - not Wolf anymore.

"Fox!"

I opened my eyes. It looked like I finally returned back to the living plane. "Ugh..." Indeed, the pain was fresh. I touched my forehead, feeling a bandage wrapped around my forehead. "My head..."

"We had to close the cuts you sustained, and your head took much of the beating," Peppy told me. "You had a severe head injury, especially when the debris knocked you with quite a force. Thank goodness..." He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "And... thank you so much for saving the hostages. According to these three, you formed quite a very good strategy." Good eh? These guys didn't know how hard it was to live in the dark corners of Lylat. What I did wouldn't be enough to help me survive.

"I thought it was kinda weird that Fox would be able to think of something like that," Falco suddenly commented. "Normally, he'd be thinking twice about not using the stun grenade when he knew some of the hostages would be affected! I actually liked that." What?

I shook my head. "It... it was necessary." Seriously, Fox wouldn't hesitate to use the grenade as far as I know. "Besides, there was little risk involved. We all know-" Ouch! My forehead ached a bit. I tried to press it with my index finger. Hopefully it would go away. "Anyway... how are the hostages?"

"They're doing fine," Krystal answered. "The real question is - how are you? You've been in a coma since the mission." Huh?

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Slippy said while showing me some graph. My eyes widened after looking at it. "You've been in a coma for three days since you got hit in the head really badly, Fox. Your body slowly recovered each day... but... hey!" I was running out of time! Here I was recovering from some injury when my teammates and Fox are in the brink of death because I didn't do my job! "Fox... Stay down!"

"No... I have to... do something!" I shouted back. While my whole body wasn't wrapped in bandages, it was still difficult and painful to move at a full angle. My head ached a bit every time I tried to get up. They were stopping me, but no... Lives were at stake here! "Let me go!"

"Fox... calm down!" Falco and Peppy pushed my arms to the bedside. The rabbit continued. "You need to rest! Can't you see you're still injured?!" Injured? Leon, Panther and Fox would die because I got careless at the mission! If I couldn't bring the object to the doctor within 24 hours, then game over. "Fox!"

"Let... let him be," Krystal suddenly told the two. Well, that was strange. "General Peppy, we need to talk as well. Let's just leave Fox alone for a while in the room, okay? He just needs to calm down..." Calm down? How could I calm down at a time like this?!

I saw everyone left the room. I stood up, body aching, and looked at their silhouettes through the glass of the door. The bird and the frog were at a bench whereas the rabbit and the vixen were talking about something. My eyes looked at the mirror - I could tell how bad I felt. While I might looked injured, this was nothing compared to what Panther, Leon and Fox looked like the last time I saw them. My eyes then noticed the hospital window.

"Now's my chance."

The hospital window was big enough for me to fit through. I quickly grabbed all of the sheets lying around and quickly tied them up. I looked down through the window and realized that the elevation was low enough for the amount of sheets that I had. My body was aching from all of that effort, but I had to endure them for the sake of my team... and Fox. I hurled the makeshift rope down and slowly climbed down from the window.

"Almost... GAH... there..."

The sensation kept on electrifying my hands and feet, but I managed to get down to the ground. I looked back at the City Capitol building. "I'll be seeing you soon." It was so close yet it'd be risky if I tried to sneak in without any gear. All I had to do was to return to where the Star Fox team stayed. They have equipment I could use. I was able to recall the way back to the condominium, which wasn't far from here. My body was screaming in pain every time I tried to walk, however. "Hospital clothing," I groaned.

I realized that I was a hero. There were drivers passing by, and if I could use Fox's heroic deeds, then I could reach the condominium faster. I waved my hand to catch a car being driven by a middle-aged tigress. "Um... ma'am... you wouldn't mind if I could take a ride perhaps? I... I would like you to take me to my condo." It was really hard to make up good, polite requests. Usually, I demanded.

"Oh my... aren't you..." She adjusted her glasses for a bit. "Mr. McCloud?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Why certainly!" she spoke while opening the door. I accepted her offer and pointed to her the directions of the condo. At least my body would hurt as much when compared to walking. "You know... your father was one of the great pilots this planet has seen."

"Yeah," I responded blankly. It was quite obvious. Who wouldn't know about James McCloud?

"He was quite a skilled person as well. As skilled like his partner, that O'Donnell." O'Donnell? His partner? What? Who was she referring to? "Ah you don't know your father much eh?" I never knew Fox's father would be affiliated to someone named O'Donnell. "Too bad his son became a rogue." Wait... his son... me?

"Umm... lady, how did you know?"

"Oh, every graduate from my batch knows of the great McCloud and O'Donnell! Too bad for O'Donnell though - especially after graduation. He became obscured once Star Fox came into existence." My father was from the academy? "Ah... here we are!"

I wanted to ask the lady about this, but I had more important business to attend to. "Thank you," I replied. When she left, I recalled what she said. Every graduate from her batch... Maybe Peppy knew my father. I had no time to ponder such thoughts though. I had to move on.

I knew my room, Fox's room, would have some spare blasters and flash grenades. Having a good suit should also help. However, my injuries wouldn't let me wear a nice sneaking suit. I had to go with casual clothing. Before leaving the condo, I realized that I would be needing the general's ID.

"Crap."

It wasn't until I saw something lying on the table. "To Peppy... Your requested ID reprint?" I thought about it for a bit. This might work. This was a duplicate of the same ID, so it would function well. What bothered me though was how it was quite... coincidental to my need. It was as if some sort of deus-ex-machina helped me. I didn't bother thinking about it though.

"Ready."

I took a bike, probably Falco's, and headed out to the City Capitol. The pain had steadily stabilized thanks to the pain suppressor drug. Hopefully, it would last me long enough for this mission and beyond.

When I arrived, I was surprised that no one was around. No guards, no cars. Nothing. I looked around and even cautiously approached the front gate. The armed soldiers were missing. "What in the world...?" I didn't waste time however. I considered this as an opportunity for me. I recalled how the trip I had with Peppy and the others days ago. The elevator was empty. I entered and pressed B3. Once the elevator opened to the third-floor basement, I quickly headed to the room that leads to the restricted area and slipped the ID. 1-6-5-1-6-1-6-2-7. 16 equated to P, 5 equated to E, and Y equated to 27... PEPPY. 16-5-16-16-27... That was easy to memorize.

I was swift. I looked around until I saw the RESTRICTED sign. I entered it and found something - a metal box with wires attached to it. On its top was some sort of handle, probably for carrying it around. I glanced at the console and noticed data like 'Aparoid testing' and 'Aparoid cloning'. My goodness... The Cornerian government... keeping this thing?

I studied the writings on the screen until I figured out how to deactivate the scanning. It was so easy really - knocking the consoles with chairs should do the trick. Once the wires were removed automatically, I quickly grabbed the handle. My arm ached for a bit, but it wasn't so bad.

"_Where is the noise coming from?_"

I heard a voice. It was that fat scientist. There was no other way out though, so the only choice was comfrontation. "What the... What are you doing?!" He saw me carrying the thing, with my blaster on my free arm. "I can't let you do that, Fox McCloud!"

"Oh please."

I saw his hand grabbing some security alarm control. "When the general called for an emergency drill, everybody went up on the building! It was a good thing that I wasn't eager to leave!" Peppy... If I didn't know better, I'd say what he did was more than just a coincidence.

"_Then you're bad for not following._"

I saw a staff hitting the scientist's head hard. It was a strong blow, enough to make him unconscious. "Krys-tal?"

"Surprised, Fox?" she made angry look. "Or are you Fox?" She pointed the staff at me. I had no time for this. No... No time at all.


	7. His Return

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 7 - His Return**

"Krystal, I have no time for this."

"Then where did you hid the real Fox?!" she shouted at me, pointing her staff at me. I tried to ignore her, but she then pointed the end of it at me. What was she up to? When I began to move away however, the thing fired off some sort of fireball on its tip! It hit a computer just behind me, which exploded! That thing had a very strange firepower. "The real Fox would know that the magic staff is dangerous, that it could cast a Fireball spell. You didn't seem to act quite cautious until I fired it, which then caused you to act surprised! So tell me, where's the real Fox?!"

I had no time for this. "Look, I'm the real Fox," I lied. "I was just surprised because I didn't think you'd fire that thing in front of me." I could tell from her eyes that she wasn't swallowing the words I just said. "Why won't you believe me? I'm the real deal!"

"No... You're not Fox!" she suddenly cried out. She was getting worried. I could tell from her face. I had a feeling that she already knew me. She was just probably unsure on who I was... yes. It all made sense now. She probably sensed my intentions before at the hospital, and had Peppy set things up like having a visit here, and calling all of the soldiers up to the top floor. She was a psychic after all. It seemed that the only thing she hadn't figured out yet was my identity. I just hoped the doctor hadn't realized this one yet. "Please... please tell me where he is!"

"F-fine... You had me," I spoke back softly. "I'll whisper it to you, as someone is watching over me." I became a bit nervous. I was a bit nervous, because the doctor might decide to blow me up after seeing me do this. I had no intentions of revealing my identity to her, however. I closed my mind.

"Who... who are you? You look a lot like Fox... You are Fox at the outside, but at the inside...!"

I punched her to the stomach. It was... It was horrible for me to do that. But I had no choice. "Forgive me... It's for the best," I whispered to her. Her eyes made a short glance at me before they close. I gently caught her and laid her down to the ground carefully. I clenched my fist and swore to myself that this would be the last time I would be blackmailed. Curse him!

I quickly ran with the package. The aches bothered me, but they were minimal. Thank goodness I took the painkiller. I finally stumbled into the docking bay... which was quite empty. Well... save for one!

I quickly rode the vehicle and activated its engines. I had to go to Sector Z as fast as possible, and hopefully this thing could make it there. Boosters full. Engines at one-hundred percent efficiency. Shields at maximum. Controls working fine... Well, it seemed I got lucky enough for a working ship. Or was this another ploy made by Peppy? I had no time to ponder about it though. I quickly engaged flight mode and thrust off of the docking bay. It wasn't long before I reached space.

Sector Z wasn't far off. Granted, the shortest path was going through an asteroid field, but I just had to shoot down the asteroids to proceed. Darn, my flying skills were crippled with my usual pains. I guess if I hadn't taken the pills I would be shaky. It wasn't long before I had arrived at the star formation though, in which I saw a space laboratory, obscured from vision.

"This is Fox Mc... Wolf O'Donnell."

"_My, my, my! Just a second! Lemme just finish my masterpiece!_" Masterpiece? What the heck...

The landing bay opened up, which I then touched down smoothly and then exited the ship. His voice echoed through the intercom. "_Right this way, Fox... or Wolf! Heheheheh!_" I swore that I would knock him senseless if he does that again. "_I knew you wouldn't disappoint me! I mean, granted, the slut got on the way but it seems you have your ways!_" Shut up.

Upon entering, I saw curtain dividers in the center of the room, with my "client" coming out from behind, wearing apron, a face-mask, and gloves. What was he doing back there? I didn't care though, as I got the package and was ready to trade for my teammates and Fox. "Here it is... Now where are they?"

"Oh, please be patient, dear Wolf!" he smiled at me. It was quite a twisted grin. "Don't worry, your crew are resting in those capsules!" He pointed me two life preservation tubes. I saw Panther and Leon unconscious inside those tubes, still heavy with wounds but with their vital signs still intact albeit fading. "If you want to, the capsules could work as makeshift coffins!"

"Quiet!" I shouted back, hurling the thing onto him. For some odd reason, something inside me told me that what I did was foolish. I just handed him a container holding an Aparoid specimen. I just gave him the key to world domination. Did I just sacrifice the whole Lylat System to save Panther, Leon and Fox? Fox...! "Where's Fox McCloud?!"

He just smiled at me. I felt nervous. I felt my body aching from the tension. "Oh right... He should be ready... now!" He pulled off the curtain dividers, and I saw something... I saw... Oh, dear!

"What have you done to him?!" I shouted back as I saw the fox all in grey and white fur. Blood was drooling from his snout. His tail... it was wrapped with bandage... and it was stained in red.

"Oh, I was thinking of giving him a make-over just like what I did to you," the bastard explained. He picked up a scalpel and... oh my, no! "There can't be two Fox McClouds now, right?" He was about to pierce Fox's left eye! I quickly swatted his arm with mine. The blade still slashed Fox, but at least it would only leave him a scar. "Heheheh, what's the matter, Wolf... Fox?"

"A deal's a deal, Lander," I growled. He simply waved his hand and pointed an empty capsule. I quickly brought Fox there and activated the machine. "This is the last time we'll meet! I don't want to see your face again!"

"Oh trust me, we'll be seeing more!" he laughed. My claws wanted to tear him down, but I got no choice. I had to bring these three to a hospital. I quickly pushed the three canisters with a trolley and attached them into the ship I took from the docking bay. Before I could leave, I heard him say, "_Adios Wolf!_" I wished a black hole would come and suck this space laboratory!

I quickly speeded through the space. I knew I was losing time because it seemed like the doctor hadn't left my shadow yet. I had to flee. I had to get out of his presence. The way he did to Fox... he turned him into me... it made my fur stood up. The grotesque idea it bore was hard to swallow.

"_Stop right there._"

What the heck? It was the Great Fox!

"_I said stop right there!_" Peppy opened the communications line. "_Whoever you are, we all know you aren't Fox McCloud. However, we know about your secret. Krystal was able to sense most of your thoughts. Dock into the Great Fox. Otherwise I'll have the tractor beam pulling you._" It looked like I had no choice.

"All right..."

My ship entered their mothership. I quickly exited the fighter and began to open the back-side of it when suddenly Falco and Peppy pointed me their blasters. "Hold it right there, imposter!" the bird, who was quite friendly to me days ago, commanded as if he was ready to pull the trigger.

"No wait... they need medical attention first!" I shouted, holding out my hand. They seemed confused, but this should clear things up. I pulled out the three recovery tubes from the back-side and pushed them towards the frog who was with them. "Hurry... Bring them to the sick bay or somewhere else where they'd be treated!"

Slippy peeked at the tubes. "Oh my... Star Wolf! What happened to them?"

"No... they're Leon, Panther... and Fox," I slowly spoke. They all were stunned after I continued. "I'm... I'm Wolf."

Krystal looked at me keenly. "But how...?!"

"It's hard to explain..."

As Slippy took the canisters with him into the sick bay, Falco added, with his blaster still pointed at me, "Then tell us all what happened! General Peppy and Krystal here told me and Slippy that you took something from the restricted section of the City Capitol, and it was for some ransom involving two of the Star Wolf team!" No wonder... she was able to sense from me why Panther was missing days ago. She was able to sense from me why I was eager to leave. She then reported it to Peppy. Yet they weren't able to figure out that I was Wolf?

"We took an offer from a client... As it turned out, it was a trap. My whole team got injured greatly. The client wanted me to take something from the City Capitol in exchange for my men. I only had five days."

"But why is Fox involved here?" the rabbit, worried and angry, spoke.

"Because he knew Fox wouldn't be questioned a lot by the people. However, he knew Fox wouldn't have the guts to do the mission. That's why the blackmailing person pretended to be a client for Fox as well. Fox ended up getting caught and heavily injured... I was then... turned into... this..."

"What was the stuff anyway?" Krystal, now with a calmer voice, asked.

"Peppy... you don't know?"

He simply shook his head. "Even someone like me had limited access to the restricted area. Why?"

"It... it was a cloned DNA data from an Aparoid."

Everybody widened their eyes with their jaws dropped. They were quite surprised, that they couldn't believe what I said.

"It is... the truth."

I suddenly remembered though - there was still a bomb stuck in my head. I felt nervous... and soon I heard a bang.


	8. Revelations

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 8 - Revelations**

Bang. What a loud noise that was... Wait, my head... It was still intact!

"The heck?! Our armory got damaged!" Falco shouted while pointing something to the console. "Oh... the damage was minor... but darn, the explosion was quite loud!"

"What... was the explosion about?" I asked them. "Got a bomb or something?" I was feeling a bit better that it wasn't the bomb in my head that exploded, but the fact that there is an explosive in my skull still made me shiver.

The rabbit patted me to my shoulder. "Don't worry about the bomb in your head, son. When you were being operated three days ago, the doctors found a foreign object in your skull. I had them remove it, which Slippy then noticed as a microscopic bomb. He tried to disable it, but all he could do was to minimize the explosion. We had to contain it to a bomb container, but as you just heard... it's one heck of a bomb." Oh... right. Lander wouldn't know about it because I was in a coma. I wondered if his camera was still watching me...

"_Guys... Help me out here! Wo-Fox's acting wild!_" Slippy's voice roared out from the intercom. Oh my... I forgot. He was turned into Wolf.

We soon rushed into the sick bay of the ship, where we saw Slippy standing up from the floor. Fox was crying out loud while pushing off objects that he could lay his hands on. "WHY AM I LIKE THIS?! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?! TELL ME!" He stopped when he looked at a wall mirror. I had bad picture on what he would soon do. "No... this not me! THIS IS NOT ME!"

As I anticipated it, he was about to slam himself to the mirror. I quickly grabbed him to the arms and pulled him off. "Fox... Snap out of it! Don't lose yourself!" Who was I kidding? The reason I didn't act like this was because I already knew what happened to be. Even then, I wasn't willing to be turned into like this, and that I had conflicts about my real identity and the person I was impersonating.

"Wolf! What the...!" he suddenly growled. I could feel that it wasn't a friendly voice. "YOU?! YOU DID THIS TO ME, DIDN'T YOU WOLF?! YOU'RE SO OBSESSED TO ME THAT YOU DECIDED TO BECOME LIKE ME!" Obsessed... I never really cared. The only thing that I could remotely call as an obsession towards you was our rivalry, and sometimes, if the situation demands it, I would ignore it.

"Calm down, Fox!" Krystal spoke in a clear tone. "He too was a victim of this madness!"

"THEN WHO DID THIS?! WHO?! WHO WOULD MESS UP MY LIFE?! WHY WOULD HE MESS UP MY LIFE?! WHY-"

"That should calm him down for a while," the frog said while removing a dart from the fox's back. "I can't blame him though. If I wake up and see myself a different person, I'd go nuts too!"

Fox slowly lightened and rested on my arms. His bloody tail landed down on the floor, and soon he drifted into sleep. "Fox... I... I..." I couldn't finish what I said. Was I asking... forgiveness? I then looked at Slippy and asked, "How're Panther and Leon?"

"Badly injured, but they're fine now."

"Fo-I mean Wolf," Falco, who suddenly spoke with a change of attitude towards me, asked, "how did you end up like that, anyway? Did that client of yours experimented you with razor-sharp objects and chemicals?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I responded while putting Fox on a bed.

"I am quite interested about it!"

"Falco!" Krystal scolded him. Thank goodness she shut him up. "You weren't like that when you didn't know he was Wolf!"

"Well, that was because we thought he was Fox! And now... I think that he already knows how we operate when we aren't doing our jobs!" I played fair. I would never attempt to challenge Star Fox when there were no plans of a battle. It would be unfair for the both of us.

"Enough already!" I shouted back. "I'll... I'll just be in the bridge. I can't stand seeing more of this."

I left the sick bay and headed to the bridge, where it was quiet. Despite the stillness, things troubled me. With Lander having the Aparoid data, he could easily create Aparoids under his command. I handed to him the DNA of the adversary that actually united me and Fox. I wondered if he would like the idea of giving the Aparoid data for the sake of his and my teammates' life.

"Still wondering what to do eh?" The voice. Peppy. "We'll get that thing back... and destroy it. I will see to it that the Aparoid research shall be terminated as well. Rushing won't do good, of course." He sat beside me, handing me a cup of warm coffee.

"I know." I sipped at the warm caffeine, making me feel a bit relaxed. Soon, I realized that it was a perfect time for me to ask something. "Say... General, do you... do you know something about my father?" I looked at his eyes. I could see that he knew something.

"Yes," he answered while adjusting his glasses, "Rufus O'Donnell was quite an extra-ordinary pilot and a partner to James. He was overlooked however, because James' skills tend to shadow him."

"And that's why he became angry against Star Fox?"

"Not at all," he continued. "In fact, he didn't like the limelight." That was awkward.

"He was a good ally. It was too bad that Pigma had betrayed him. The swine stole you after killing your parents." That pig? I was glad I eliminated him then.

"I... I actually don't know. My childhood memories were kind of blank," I replied. "All I know was that I had a father and a mother, but I couldn't recall them much. All I could recall were my memories since the time from Venom when I was a soldier."

"Hmm... maybe they reconditioned you... They do that to the new recruits back at Venom."

"Maybe..."

I sipped at my coffee.

"You know... Earlier, when Falco was assessing you-"

"Discriminating, not assessing."

"Well, in any case, when Falco said that to you, I had a thought." What did he mean? "You were being true to yourself when you were acting like Fox... right? Emotions are quite hard to pretend, especially when people like me could feel that it was really coming from you." Well... I guess. It was quite obvious that I had a hard time pretending. "Besides, Krystal's around." Yeah, the psychic.

"I am not sure, really. I realized how hard Fox's life was when he was a kid. It... it opened me. It made me think on what I would have become if I was with my parents. Fox was lucky enough to have his father around..."

"Rufus would be proud of you. You may not be a hero, but the way you handle yourself in tight situations is something admirable."

I smiled after he said that. "Thanks... I'll go see on Fox."

I returned back to the sick bay, with Fox being half-awake. Slippy, Falco and Krystal were still in the room, a bit distanced from the vulpine. "What's happening?"

"He's still down in the dumps," Slippy answered with worried eyes. "He needs someone to lift his spirits, especially with a big battle coming up."

"Won't you, Wolf? You also went under the same treatment like him," Krystal requested.

"I wouldn't really ask something from you... but you're our only hope," Falco even added. For some odd reason he didn't sound as irritating as earlier. "Please... Fo-Wolf."

I simply nodded. They exited the room as I entered, making Fox look at me for a bit before looking down at the floor. I sat beside him, where our eyes met. His eyes were a nice replication of mine, and that it only lacked the eye-patch.

"How're you?"

"A bit confused... Krystal told me what happened..."

"Quite a shocker, I know," I told him. "It's... it's hard to live like this."

"Well, at least you have a purpose or a mission on why you became like that!" he suddenly shouted. "I... I have nothing! I was simply captured and turned into this! What should I do?!"

"Fox, listen to me." I held his shoulders with my hands and looked at him directly to the eyes - to my eyes. "We'll get through this. Don't lose hope."

"How? I don't want to end up like this!"

"I know we'll be fine after this... Don't give up and trust your instincts. I know they're telling you not to lose hope."

"Wolf..."

"Trust me."

I felt my words penetrated his thoughts. I could feel his trust. That felt... good.


	9. To Prepare

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 9 - To Prepare**

I rested myself on a couch at the City Capitol lobby. I saw Peppy's face - he was quite furious. Some guards took the fat head researcher as well as the other scientists off from the building with their hands handcuffed. I was not sure if the General was angry about these guys doing some illegal research, or about what happened earlier

When we were at space, we tried to go to the space laboratory where Lander was residing. As it turned out, he blew up the space laboratory before we could even reach it. He fled with the Aparoid DNA copy at his disposal. It wouldn't be long before we could see Aparoids attacking at any time.

I wasn't aware that Fox was at the other end of the couch. He was gloomy. "You okay there?"

"No... no I am not," he said back with a low tone. I knew he wasn't in his best spirits. When we took Leon and Panther earlier at the hospital, the doctors checked up on him. At first they were afraid because he looked like me, but after the General's assurance, they decided to check him up. Fox was disappointed... or more like horrified, when he learned that there was nothing that they could do to remove the bleaching of his fur, among other things that made him look like me. "Wolf... I... I don't know what to do."

"Just stay calm, okay?" I told him. I too didn't like looking like him. I wanted my old self back. I had no intention of looking like him forever. However, far more important things were at hand. "Look... Just don't worry about it now. We should focus on planning what to do next."

I could see in his eyes - my eyes - the fascination on how I was able to keep calm. "Wolf... How are you able to keep yourself sane?"

"Believe me... I was also afraid when he told me that he would change me." I was really afraid. "But then... with the fact that you, Panther and Leon are going to be killed if I screw up... I had no choice but to pick myself up and do what I had to do." I looked back at him again. "I know you're also not the type who would mope in a corner, especially when you know that the Lylat system is at stake here!"

He closed his eyes. "You're right, Wolf. I'll just have to get used to this," he told me with a calmer voice. I could still sense his disappointment, but at least he was now in better spirits. "So... you wanna meet the others?"

"They're at the hangar, preparing the Arwings. I already met them earlier and they seem to be busy." Well, they were when I last checked anyway. As soon as we hit the planet, Falco, Slippy and Krystal quickly left to prep their ships. Fox stayed with me.

"No, not them," he added. What did he mean? "Your teammates Wolf. Let's visit them. I'm pretty sure they're fine by now." Oh them. Yeah, I hope so. Slippy had patched them up well, and the only thing the hospital would do was to quicken their recovery.

After leaving a message to Peppy, we exited the building and walked towards the hospital. While walking, I decided to chat with Fox. I might get some interesting information about our fathers. "Say Fox... Does your father... Does your father talk to you a lot when he was around with you?"

"Yeah, he tells me stories about his adventures."

"No... I mean, about his campus life," I asked. "Did he tell you about his life back then when he was studying in campus?"

We entered the hospital. "Hmm... Well, he didn't say anything much." Just as I thought. Maybe this partnership of my dad and Fox's dad wasn't remembered even by James. "I only recall him telling me that he had a best friend back then." Oh...

We entered the elevator. "Who was he?"

"He... He didn't say... Actually, maybe he did, but I forgot." I see. "But I remember that my dad told me that he was the best partner he had back then." I was a bit silent back then. Had my father survive from Pigma, would Fox and I be friends?

The elevator dinged. It was our floor. We quickly walked to the ward where Panther and Leon were. I hadn't said a word since then - pondering on the thoughts about the possibility of me and Fox being actual friends. I had never thought of that idea. Years ago, thinking of even just being allies with him was sickening, but the now, especially since I had played as him, it struck me as if it was a good idea.

"Wolf?"

"Oh... sorry."

"We're here."

We entered the room, seeing the two on bed. Both of them seemed fine - Leon was silently staring at the wall with enigmatic thoughts while Panther, who was trying to endure hospital meal, waved at us. I approached them and said, "How're you?"

"Well, thank you for keeping us alive," Leon responded with a rather sarcastic tone. "I suppose you're gonna send us to jail, Fox?" Oh, right, they didn't know.

"Hmm... something's wrong, Wolf?" Panther, who was looking at Fox, asked. "You seem to be a bit thin. They're treating you badly here?" Well, at least he noticed that I was supposed to be bigger.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you two, but I'm Fox," the vulpine behind me finally declared. "He's Wolf." Their eyes widened. "Wolf... I'll let you explain it to them."

I wanted to keep it brief but complete. I told them that our client Lander was the one behind this - that he tricked us so that he could use them as insurance. That I would be stealing something for him. That I had to be Fox. That for some sinister reason, he forced Fox to be me. I told them that the Aparoids were coming back.

"No way... Haven't we gotten rid of them?" Panther exclaimed, and this time he was eating his meal quite heartily without regard whether it was from the hospital.

"The Cornerian government was doing some illegal research about copying an Aparoid's DNA. They were able to do it. Lander has heard about this and well... you know the rest," Fox answered. "Are you two in condition to help us? I know you just recovered and if it is hard for you two to-"

"Hmph! You're indeed just a fox in Wolf's clothing!" Leon suddenly cut him. "Wounds won't stop me if I'm ordered to do something!" Leon... Always my loyal wingmate.

"And I can't stand Aparoids destroying things once more. I won't allow it," Panther added. I did pick the best man as a new addition after all.

"All right then, guys," I smiled. "I'll be counting on you."

"But... what about our Wolfens? How are we going to help without them?" the feline inquired. Now that he said it, I too wondered. I looked at Fox.

"I think the General already knows about that," he responded with a nod. I raised my eyebrow, as I couldn't understand what he meant. "Wolf... This is Peppy we're talking about. He knows how our heads work." Oh... Right... Peppy.

Fox's communicator suddenly beeped. "This is Fox... What! Already!" Oh my... I looked at Panther and Leon. They already got the picture. "We'll be going... Yeah, they're coming with us." He pressed his communicator and looked at us. "They've been spotted. Aparoids are already heading this way."

"Well... we'll just have to do it. One more time..."


	10. A Terrible Crisis

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 10 - A Terrible Crisis**

Our ships flew out from the docking bay of the City Capitol. I glanced on Leon and Panther, who both demanded to be discharged from the hospital as soon as they heard that the Aparoids were coming. I was worried because I knew they haven't fully recovered yet. Some of their wounds were still covered in bandages and gauzes, but I knew they wouldn't back out. I would just have to keep my eyes on them.

It wasn't long before I could hear them argue. I was pretty sure Falco would soon begin to insult Leon or Panther.

"Whoa, lizard boy, you sure you could still fly?" I heard Falco taunt Leon from the communications... just as I thought. "You still wrapped around in your bandages. I don't want to cram my style by having to watch your back!"

As expected, the chameleon would make a response. "Impudent fowl! You'll be the one who'll need to watch your back! I won't be saving you when you-Agh!" His sudden jerk made me worry.

"Leon?" I asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just got some random pain," he responded. I could tell that he was having a hard time breathing before he adjusted to a regular breathing pace. "Don't mind me."

"I can't risk you both," I told them. I wouldn't risk them again. "I know I won't be able to convince you two to turn back, but I don't want the both of you to die because of your current state. I'll be asking Fox's crew to keep an eye on you..." Hopefully, they would still listen to me, even though Fox was around. "Slippy, keep an eye on Leon. Krystal, you keep an eye on Panther. Is that fine with you, Fox?"

"No problem." he quickly answered. "You guys keep an eye on them, okay?"

"Well... okay," Slippy replied with some sort of uncertainty.

As I thought, Panther wouldn't like it. "But... It would be quite un-gentleman of me to allow Krystal to watch over me, when I should be the one protecting her."

"Oh, be quiet," she scolded him. "I know you'll get your chance soon once you recovered your injuries."

I wanted to hear them bicker more, but I realized that we were reaching space zone. "Quiet, everyone. We're here."

Fox then added, "All we have to do is to rendezvous with the small Cornerian fleet." I looked around the empty space, and even at my radar. What did he mean by Cornerian fleet? There was no one around.

"What fleet?" Leon wondered. "I don't see anything!"

"Fox... I thought we were supposed to meet with the fighters the General deployed!" Falco suddenly reacted. We both probably felt the same thing - something bad had happened. "Don't tell me they got blasted off by the enemy!"

"Oh no... I don't think they were blasted by the enemy," Slippy spoke, confirming my worries. When I looked at the space again, I suddenly saw many crafts coming from the darkness. There was a larger one at the center... Wait, those smaller crafts. They resembled the Cornerian fleet ship! "They... they _are_ the enemy!" My hands suddenly shook on their own. I felt nervous.

"Goodness... Is that the Cornerian fleet?" Krystal gasped. Yeah... We were all quite terrified. If the Aparoids Lander had created could infect quite a number of ships this quickly... then we really had little hope here.

"Huh? We're receiving transmission?" Panther said. The monitor in our HUD was giving a static signal until an infected dog pilot appeared. "The hell...?!"

"You shall join us... You shall evolve with us," he spoke in a robotic tone. The way he looked gave me the shiver - he has very little fur aside from his snout... all armored and freaky. "Our creator... shall take over your planet..." Just as I thought... They were beginning the attack on Corneria.

The screen suddenly went static again. Lander's head popped up, all in his Aparoid greatness. It was as if his whole body was melded with some ship. "Why hello there! Look at what I have done! I have created something that will allow me to take over Lylat! Thanks to you, Wolf, or should I say Fox, the whole Lylat System shall bask under my reign!" All because of me... I knew I made a big mistake. My hands were shaking.

"Don't listen to him, Wolf!" Fox shouted back. "You had to do it because your friends are in danger! Just keep that in mind!" Friends huh? Did it include him? "We'll stop him!"

"Stop me? Hah! In a matter of minutes, you lot will also join me!" Lander threatened. "Now, my minions! Attack them!"

"As you command, master."

A large group of infected ships charged towards us. There was no other choice but to fire back. "Let's crush these gnats!" I growled, charging my shot to full power and firing them. The laser homed... and... What?! "Our shots!" The beams from our ships simply bounced from their machines. "The heck?!"

We all scrambled off of our position. "All right! They're annoying! These bugs have upgraded shi-Agh!" Leon! His ship lost control and soon a barrage of lasers blasted his ship! No! "Gah!"

"Do a barrel roll, damn it!" Falco yelled, shielding the chameleon from the lasers while rolling. "You owe me big time, lizard boy!"

"Crap," the chameleon responded with some sort of ached tone. Something was wrong with him. "Bird... in front of you!"

"Huh?"

A black... swarm? It engulfed Falco's Arwing in an instant. "Falco? FALCO!" I cried out from the communications line. I received no reply but screams.

"Aghhh! No... AHHHH!! THE PAIN!! YAAARGHHH!!" he yelled out quite loud. The way how he shouted... the pain... I could feel it. It then went static. Suddenly, he popped up, only... Oh no. He was infected. "Long live the Aparoid swarm."

"No... Not Falco!" Fox shouted. "Everyone, retreat!" He was right. He had no chance of defeating this one, let alone getting out without risk of getting infected.

"Don't escape. You need to come with me, Fox," Falco, also in robotic tone, spoke. "Slippy. Krystal. You three as well, Star Wolf. Come with me. Join the swarm." His ship tailed us, and soon caught Slippy, who was the slowest on our bunch. He fired a beam at the engines of the Arwing, disabling the engines. "Slippy Toad... One of us."

"Don't help! Ungh... No! Don't help! Get out of here as fast as you can!"

Fox simply cried. I wanted to stop and turn as well, but it was risky. We couldn't... save him. We wanted to save him, but we couldn't. It wasn't a matter of time before we heard him scream and soon... acted like an Aparoid.

"Ugh... My hands are... aching too!" Panther growled. No... not him too! "Hurry, boost out of here while you still can. I'll try to stop them for a while with my laser."

"Sorry... Panther... but I swore that I would protect you..."

"Huh?"

Her ship flew behind Panther's Wolfen and lobbed a bomb. The explosion thrust his ship forward from our lines, while she was blasted back at the nearing swarm... No... not a sacrifice. "Farewell... everyone... I know... you'll save us..."

"Krystal!!"

Panther tried to speed back to the swarm, but I rammed my ship towards his. "No time, Panther!" I shouted back. I was crying too. She was the one who helped me back when I was pretending as Fox. Now... she was gone. "We'll save her!" I looked at Fox through the cockpit. He was crying as well. His team... lost. "Fox..."

"Wolf... I... I can't move on... without them."

"Fox, what are you...?" I had a feeling about this.

"Wolf... The swarm... it's getting near... At our speed, we won't be able to escape quickly." He rammed Leon's ship towards me, making me push both Leon's and Panther's Wolfen. "Wolf... promise me..."

"Fox... what are you trying to do?"

"Just promise me that you'll save me! You'll save Star Fox! You'll save Corneria! You'll save Lylat!" He wouldn't...!

I heard a bomb being lobbed at the back of my ship. "No! Fox! Don't!" I shouted. It was too risky.

"Save... everyone..."

The bomb exploded. The explosion pushed us in miles apart. His ship was absorbed by the black swarm while mine continued to boost through the Cornerian atmosphere. I wasn't sure... I was afraid. What would happen next...

"Wolf... We will save them right?" Panther asked. For the first time I saw his eyes quite moist with tears.

"We... will..."


	11. Last Resort

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 11 - Last Resort**

"I said I don't want it!" I heard Leon shouted loudly. "I am fine! I don't need any medica-ARGH!" I quickly moved to approach him but a medical team quickly came to help. The medic quickly injected him with something. When I looked at it, it made me remember something. It was a painkiller, something I took many hours ago. I saw the chameleon mumbling something while the medic left him some capsule.

"Leon, you better go ahead and take the medicine," I told him. "It's for your own good."

"Psh... You're starting to sound like Fox," he grunted as he swallowed the capsule. I paused for a bit, pondering on what he said. The people around me didn't know that I was Wolf O'Donnell. Granted, General Peppy didn't tell that I was Wolf. The people thought that 'Wolf' led 'my' team to their demise, and that I was simply tagging up with Panther and Leon because I had no choice.

I looked at Panther sitting beside Leon. His arms were bandaged and he had some gauze on his forehead. He took the same medicine the chameleon had. "How about you? Can you still pilot the Wolfen? If you can't, you can stay."

"I can still move my arms," he responded, although I could hear him groan in pain. "And I will be going with you. I swear to my rose that I won't let them take Krystal and do horrible things to her!" At least he had something that motivated him to move on. I wouldn't know what would motivate me.

"Star Fox, sir!" a dog soldier approached me. "You and your company have been asked to see the General inside the meeting room." I wondered what Peppy would want from us. We followed the dog and entered the meeting room, with Peppy, and only Peppy, inside.

"You may leave, soldier," he prompted the canine. The dog left, and the old rabbit looked at us. I could tell from his eyes that he was about to tell us something quite serious. It sent me some weird chill, as if it would involve something - probably a sacrifice. "Wolf... the rest of you... Let me give it to you straight, we have no chance of defeating these new Aparoid swarms." Just as I suspected - it would be bad news.

"No... But I thought Corneria have the best minds in the system!" Panther argued back angrily. The idea of him not being able to rescue someone... how chivalrous. I wished I had that trait. "Couldn't you create the program that could cause the Aparoids to break down like before?!"

The General just nodded. "Yes we have the best minds... but they reside in the protected Orbital Gate facility. I had managed to contact them, saying that they should create a new program that can - no, will - destroy the Aparoids. I am sure the old apoptosis program won't work on these newer Aparoids, so I commanded Beltino and the rest to work on a newer, more efficient program as fast as possible, including the a program that can repel Aparoid infestation on vehicles. That was all I could tell them before the Aparoids took over Corneria's communications."

"Then this station is still free from the Aparoids?" Leon asked.

"It is, so far. However, once Corneria gets overwhelmed by the enemy, they will soon detect the facility. I want you three to quickly go to the station and retrieve the program, enter the center of the swarm, and release it. I must admit, the Cornerian Defense Force aren't capable of doing that... so at least, all we can do is give you an opening for escaping the planet."

"That's a lot of work... What made you think that we could do it?" I asked... I just doubted myself and my capabilities. Was it because I lost Star Fox back then? Was it because... I was unable to save anyone.

The rabbit just smiled. "I trust your abilities. Being able to survive the various fights against Star Fox... Being able to outsmart the Defense Force from hunting you down... Being able to take care of 

yourselves... I... no... the whole Corneria... the whole Lylat, is asking you three, Star Fo-Star Wolf... to save us. Use your skills of survival to stop the Aparoids once and for all."

Us? Saviors? You had to be kidding me. That was the last thing I could see myself. I could see Panther's eyes well lit and blooming though, knowing that he was willing to do such a dangerous thing. Leon... well... he would probably do anything that was told of him. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we also stopped the Aparoids before. It was the idea of survival that united me and Fox on something. It was something that drove me to do things that I couldn't imagine.

"You pretty much gave me an idea that we could simply flee with our lives and not enter the Orbital Gate after you give us an opening," I chuckled. "But I have no choice. After all, if the whole system gets infected, we won't have a home. Besides," I pointed myself, "it'd be a dishonor for me to simply make Fox look like a coward. I play fair against him, and I wouldn't shame the honor we have over each other!" The alarm blazed. "All right. Panther. Leon. Let's go!"

I saw Panther and Leon grinning. The hare was also smiling. "Indeed, you are Wolf, yet at the same time, you are Fox, not in looks, but both in actions and thoughts, after all," the general said. I wasn't sure - should I feel complemented? "Just as to be expected from Rufus's son." It felt good. While I did not understand the feeling it produced when he said that, I felt more ready. A short nod was given before we three actually left.

We boarded our ships, ready to launch with the Defense Force's large imperial fleet. I looked at my teammates and asked, "You two ready?"

"You know that I'll stick with your orders!" Leon replied.

"And you know why I won't back down this fight!" Panther answered.

"Then we'll survive... together," I told them. At the same time, we took off along with the different army ships.

The plan was simple yet hard - we would attack the Aparoid swarm... well, we would be feigning an attack. Once the swarm attacks the fleet, we would escape towards the Orbital Gate facility. Because the Aparoids this time weren't on a different dimension, we wouldn't be expecting any missile attacks. It seemed Lander was more focused on taking down and assimilating Corneria. But the idea of Peppy sacrificing... just like before... an action that made me shed a tear.

"All right, you know what to do!" Peppy commanded through the communications. Our ships blasted through the weaker Aparoids using our more powerful lasers. The other ships however, were soon taken over, and just as I thought, these infected ships were a lot more durable.

Soon, the enemy released black small pellet things. "Avoid the black swarm at any cost!" I yelled. Panther and Leon wouldn't get themselves near those things after seeing the horrors these had done, but the other pilots succumbed.

It was after a few minutes where the heat of the battle had focused on the fleet - losing their numbers one by one. I opened the channel to the main ship of the defense force and nodded for a bit at Peppy. "Thank you... Thank you for treating me... like Fox..."

"You deserve it," he smiled. "Now go!"

Our three ships boosted off of the warzone. However, Panther warned me. "Look out. Four ships approaching at our tails." Four ships... Oh my goodness... I had a feeling that it would be _them_.

"You won't be escaping the fight, Star Wolf," Fox, wearing a different armor-like suite with an eyepiece for his right eye like I had originally, threatened us through the communications. "After all, you never fled our battle. Don't disappoint me."

"This is odd... What sort of infestation is this? They talk with emotions!" Panther affirmed. "What have they done to you?!"

"We call it... reconditioning. It's far a better term than assimilation," the darker-furred Krystal smiled. "Panther... You like me, don't you? Well then, why not join us?"

"You cat, don't listen to her!" Leon shouted. He then received some blast that nearly hit his wing. "Hmph! You're still an annoying bird."

"And you're gonna be one annoyed chameleon once I am done with you!" the black Falco threatened him. "Slippy, ready the Aparoid swarm!"

"Ready to fire!" I heard a response.

My fingers where shaking. Fight or flee? There was no time to fight, but we couldn't escape properly with them tailing us.

"Not so fast, Star Fox!"

I looked at the rear view. The large ship commanded by Peppy, slowly succumbing into the infestation, blocked the four infected Arwings. "Hurry! Boost your way out of here! Get out and flee!"

"Peppy..."

"Do it!"

On three, our Wolfens fired off what remained on our boosters. Still glancing at the rear view, I saw a black explosion coming from the Imperial ship. As the explosion ceased, an infested ship appeared. We were too far off to be chased however.

"We... are... safe... for now," Panther gasped. "Oh my... Krystal... What have they done to you..."

"Don't waste your time crying, you big cat!" Leon shouted again. "If you want to be with her, then go back there and join her! If you want to save her, then come with us!" He was right. We had no time to spare. We had to jet towards the Orbital Station, which wasn't far.

We had finally arrived, and soon docked. Beltino and the other scientists greeted us with disappointing news. "We are still working on it... The program would take a while... It is complex."

"You better hurry then," I told him, "if you want your son to be saved."

"He... Oh my..." I really didn't want to say that. I would never say that to someone who had to worry about his son. I had no right to say that. But I had to rush him. "Then... this is personal."


	12. Enter Star Fox

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 12 - Enter Star Fox**

I stared at the solid steel floor. My heart continued to thump fast. The idea of the Aparoids getting closer gave me shudder. Every minute that flew made me felt that time was running out. Quick flashes of mental images of the Aparoids suddenly arriving and attacking the base... my hand couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't blame them though - the people here just heard about the attack just a few hours ago, and they didn't even have an Aparoid to test if the stuff they were told to develop would work.

"Hey."

I quickly jumped up with my heart suddenly beating faster. I exhaled for a bit... I was quite... shocked. "Sorry."

"Did I startle you or something?" Panther asked. Yeah, I was startled, if only because of the fear that the enemy had already breached us. "Relax, Wolf. We'll get over this. They're simply doing something to our ships." Hmm... what would it be this time?

However, something made me interested - I noticed him carrying some sort of bottle with a syringe. "What's that for?"

"Oh. Right." He filled the syringe with the contents of the small bottle. "Give me your arm. They said that we're gonna need this to have antibodies against the Aparoids."

I removed my gloves and protector while he held my arm. "And what are they doing with our ships?"

"They're installing some sort of repelling program in our ship's interface," he continued. The needle slowly pierced me painlessly, and the contents of the syringe were injected. "They're also installing some plating that releases waves that disrupt the Aparoids and upgraded our lasers. That way, they won't be able to fuse with our ships."

"At least... for a few hours," the old frog said while exiting from the entry along with Leon. "While I am confident about the new program that will destroy this newly born Aparoid swarm, and the laser upgrade we have installed at your ship cannons, we weren't able to create stronger plating for your ship or longer-lasting antibodies for you three. These will only last for five hours..." He handed out a small box containing some sort of computer and some sort of suit. "The protective suit will filter off Aparoid particles just in case you needed to go on foot in the core."

"Then we'll have to get going. Five hours is enough. All we have to do is to release this thing into the central core of the Aparoids right?"

"Yes, by forcing it into the core, the program will run and will soon terminate the Aparoids," he added. He then spoke in a low tone. "Please... save my son."

"I will. I will save them."

I then heard the alarm blaring. "_Aparoid swarm moving away from Corneria! It seems to have detected this station!_"

"Let's get going!" Panther shouted. He seemed to be brimming with confidence. "We'll stop the Aparoids before it can reach this space station!" I wouldn't allow them to reach this station either.

The three of us quickly rode our modified Wolfen ships. The lasers and the armor might give us a fighting chance against their smaller armies, but time was a lot more important. I wouldn't want to waste our time in a dogfight while their swarm would swallow the Orbital Gate. We had to act quickly - getting inside to their center would be our goal.

As soon as we exited the space station, we saw a large black mass made up of smaller particles slowly nearing us. "Aparoids... And the core," Leon pointed out. "It's the center... That spherical thing!"

Lander would be inside of that thing. "All right. Speed up. Fire away."

Our ships thrust through space and slowly approached the swarm. We were met with smaller Aparoid insects and fused jet fighters. Our lasers blasted through their supposed hard exterior... the upgrade worked flawlessly! It was a good sign. As we get closer and closer, we were facing larger bugs. Our lasers never stopped. No matter how big they were, we didn't falter. We only moved forward. Then the next swarm was composed of Aparoids and Aparoid-fused pilots. I gave a short nod. There was no time to spare them. We had to kill them... for the greater good.

I shall avenge your deaths...

The swarm had stopped the moment that we were near the core. However, thoughts flew into my head. This felt familiar. In fact, it was something similar before. Not the scenario, but the feeling. I then recalled that Star Fox team was fused by the Aparoids... and now... this...

"Foreign ships coming this way... Don't tell me it's..."

And just before Panther could finish that, I heard a familiar voice. "Hey Wolf... What was that you said again?!" from my console, Fox appeared and taunted. "Ah yes! Can't let you do that, Star Wolf!"

Just as I thought! Four Arwings fused with Aparoids appeared and barraged us with lasers. We quickly performed an evasive maneuver to deflect them and soon we began to engage them. "We can't convince you to stop, right?"

"No, I don't think so!" Slippy answered. "You might have gained powerful lasers and Aparoid-resistant armor, but that won't stop us from destroying you! Don't let them get into the core!"

"Krystal... I have failed you once, but I will not fail you again! I will save you!" Panther shouted. It must had been hard for him to fire those shots against her.

"This lizard is mine!"

"Let me see if you can!" And the two rivals fought.

"This is an unfair fight," I told them as I struggled against Fox and Slippy. One was agile while the other was slow but powerful. "We're running out of time!"

Leon, who was being followed by Falco on the tail, surprised me by flying past me, making Slippy and Falco slam at each other. "Hey Wolf, you go on ahead. Two-on-four might not be an equal number, but in terms of skill, we can still match them!"

"All right, I'll leave them to you two. Don't die on me okay? I already saw you guys in peril, and I don't want to see you guys like that again!" I trusted them, after all. I wouldn't screw up. Not especially against Star Fox. I quickly powered up my boosters and fired off.

"I can't let you boost through, Wolf!" Fox shouted. He followed my trail. This would be hard, as he began to fire on my ship. I quickly fired some shots to open up the core. The core itself wasn't organic - it was just some spherical metal ball. I blasted into the hole and engaged my boost once more.

Fox was still onto my track. Or... was he?

He was gone! No one was following me anymore. And it looked like the core itself had its own atmosphere - the readings showed that it wasn't vacuum. Hmm... I wondered why.

Finally, the heart of the core! It looked weird though - it was an opened room with only one wall - and some sort of glowing thing at the middle. I landed onto the metallic floor and, while suiting myself up with protective gear, carried the program device with me.

I walked closer and closer. After a few more steps - I gasped. It was a glowing metal yet organic thing - it was a large... heart-like thing! And inside was Lander! He was all naked, but with tentacles burst out of his body! It was... disgusting!

"DON'T MOVE!"

Oh crud! I didn't realize! Fox kicked my back! I was careless!

"No one disturbs our master."


	13. Rival

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 13 – Rival**

At least I got some antibody should the Aparoids try to assimilate me… At least all I had to worry about was defeating Fox. Hopefully he wouldn't be much of a bother.

"Let's end this quickly, Fox."

"Master wants me to destroy you," he threatened me with a rather casual tone. I saw him cracking his knuckles while slowly placing his hand to his pocket. He was about to grab a weapon. "Although if you live long enough until the antibodies wear off, he might consider assimilating you three-"

I quickly drew my blaster and aimed it at his arm. My heart throbbed faster as I fired a shot that quickly hit his hand. When I saw his weapon flinging out of his grip, I quickly tackled him and delivered a kick, knocking him off of his feet. "No. I'm gonna stop this once and for all."

"Wolf O'Donnell, a hero?" he chuckled. "Do you really think you can really be as great as me? The only thing that you have that I also have is my looks. You have nothing in you that could make you as good as me! I mean, I have always defeated you and this one will have the same outcome!"

I struggled to pin him down with my weight, trying to shrug off what he was said. He was right though. I really wasn't able to defeat him… it was either a draw or a close fight - with him winning.

"What gave you the idea that you could bring me down." He was... slowly... pushing me... "You have never won in a fight against me!" I... He was able to get up on his knees! "You know the truth, Wolf. You are never, ever going to beat me!"

His words suddenly put me into a deep thought, that I was lost in focus. He overpowered me and I was pinned to the ground, with his hand gripping my throat. I was too weak... I was too weak to let myself lose control of myself. I was too weak to let myself get lost in the thoughts. My hands were free, but all I could do was trying to force Fox off of me - otherwise my neck would be crushed.

"You're pathetic, O'Donnell!" Fox shouted as he tightened his grip. My hands could only stop the tightening. I need to think quickly. "_Rival_? You only considered me a rival when you kept losing on me! The only way to hide your shame was to think of me as an _equal_ when in fact I am a lot more above than you!" His words were ruining my focus. I couldn't think straight. "Come on, O'Donnell! Prove yourself to be an equal! Not a single encounter with you have I lost, and I'll make sure this one will be the last match we shall have!"

He was right. I had not won a single fight against him. Most of them ended as draws or my team losing. To think that I considered him a rival pretty much was just a ruse. I was... bad at accepting things like losing. Maybe that was my way of coping it. Deep down I knew I was the one who lost, and I had no guts to face it. What made me think that I would win this one?

"_Just promise me that you'll save me! You'll save Star Fox! You'll save Corneria! You'll save Lylat!_"

In my head, I heard Fox, the real Fox, yelling me that. He told me to promise that many moments ago... but I was too weak to do it. This mission rested in my hands yet here I was, failing.

But then I recalled - everyone had already risked their lives. Star Fox, Peppy... even my team. What was I doing? Why was I letting myself lose? They sacrificed themselves without a second thought because they trusted in my skill. No... I wouldn't fail them!

In my last breath, I concentrated my force to my hands. Holding Fox's hands tightly, I delivered a kick to his shins and then rammed my head to his forehead. I pushed him off with my strength, breathing and sweating heavily as the intense feeling surrounded me. "I may be a loser... and I may be ranked lower to Fox McCloud," I punched him to the stomach, "but I won't accept that I would be lower to an Aparoid, and Fox won't either!" still holding his arms, I quickly gave an uppercut, knocking the surprised vulpine off of his feet. "They're all counting on me, and I can't fail!"

"Why do you care?" he asked, holding his injured leg. He was about to grab a laser which I quickly punched away.

"It was Fox that made me feel compassion again, and that feeling I want to feel from others!" I kicked him off.

Time was ticking. My heart was beating very fast. I quickly grabbed the computer and planted it into the large machine containing Lander's deformed body. I was typing so fast, that it felt like my hands were moving by themselves. I had to act quickly, otherwise Fox, who was still under Aparoid control, might get the gun I kicked away.

"Just a few presses..."

The computer monitor read: Virus Upload 10

It was a bit slower than I thought. However, I could see the reaction of the whole Aparoid room - it was vibrating, and some parts of the wall even ruptured and exploded. I looked at the computer once more - it had already uploaded 75, and I could see Lander's body having some sort of epileptic seizure. It was working remarkably!

"Not... so... fast!"

Fox, still under Aparoid control, albeit weakened both physically and mentally, pointed the pistol at the machine. "Not now... Not when everything's at full circle..."

"Fox, stop! Put your head together! Get yourself out of its control!" I yelled. I had a feeling that somehow, my voice was getting into those ears of his. I just hope it reached into his head quickly.

"There's... still... time!"

No. He pulled the trigger... to the computer. And it wasn't even done yet. No. Only 10 more. I had a split second of time to reflect on what had happened to me. I simply thought that if it wasn't for Lander, I wouldn't had the chance to view life in a strange yet different way... that I wouldn't be able to appreciate other people much. I smiled. I smiled before I blocked the computer from the laser shot. As I recalled, laser shots are usually fatal.

As the blast took a toll on my body, giving me a severe shock, my eyes glanced at the computer, which was showing a 100. I heard something like liquid collapsing followed by a strong thud... it was probably Lander being ejected from the Aparoid heart. And then... I heard various pieces of metal dropping. It was probably Fox being freed from his Aparoid control... I wished I could see his face one last time.

"Oh... my... what happened...?"

I could feel my body was damp. I wasn't sure if it was my blood or the dissolving Aparoids. Well, at least I wouldn't worry about turning into an Aparoid zombie, that's for sure.

"Aparoids have...! Wolf?!"

Finally, he had caught on me. My numbness was slowly catching up though. All I could feel now was his arms touching my shoulder.

"Wolf! You... you're gonna be fine, okay?"

It was the last thing I heard. I simply smiled and tried to say something. I couldn't hear what I wanted to say but I tried. I tried to turn around to look at him.

"Took you long enough to come back..."

He was smiling yet tears came to his eyes. I was not sure what he was crying about. That was the last thing I saw - barring his mouth movements which I tried to translate. But I was too sleepy.

-

I was sitting on a wooden chair, looking at the beautiful garden. Two men then sat beside me, one was a fox wearing sunglasses and the other was a wolf who looked like me, only older.

"You did well," the wolf said to me.

"Thanks... I guess you're proud of me now eh? We're all together now... How's mother?" I asked.

"Oh, your mom's fine," the other one replied. "I also want to thank you for saving the team... and my son."

"It was nothing," I replied. "Well..."

We just sat there, looking at the flowers, and then the trees. We then shifted our view to the open sea. It was beautiful.

"Heh, I'd end up becoming insane if something like that happened to me," the older wolf chuckled. "You're quite strong-willed and gutsy. You make the O'Donnells proud."

I simply smiled.

"Though, now that you finally learned to appreciate what others feel towards you, what next?" the fox with sunglasses asked. "It'd be pointless to express it here, especially to us."

"I'm not sure really... I'm not sure if I wanted to go back or simply stay here."


	14. End of the Road

**A Wolf in Fox's Clothing**

**Chapter 14 – End of the Road**

"I don't think I have a life left to live back there," I told to my father. We both were gazing at the beautiful horizon beyond the flowery garden, with a warm breeze touching our fur. My eyes focused on the landscape, feeling the comfort on my muzzle. "I'd... I'd like to join you guys."

"Are you sure?" James, who sat to my left, asked. "Why are you saying this? What gave you that idea? Your realization will be pointless if you don't continue on."

"Well..."

As the sun sank into the horizon, its glow exploded. I covered my eyes with my hand as the very bright glow blasted towards us. It felt hot. Slowly, the brightness faded away, but it was not like the one where the sun would set. It was different. Everything was slowly being eaten by black.

"Wolf, I'm proud of you," my father said to me. "However, you still have more ahead of you. Think about it. Think about what you learned. Don't lament."

"There will be a time where you will join us," James added. They then turned to their backs and walked away. "I cannot say for sure when, but as long as you are spending your time in Lylat, make the most out of it. And please... tell my son that I'll always watch him."

"You two..."

"Stay safe, son."

In a small flash, their silhouettes vanished. Everything was all gone. It was all darkness. Then suddenly, some faint light glowed. My body felt heavy, feeling a dizzy spell, and my limbs felt sore. Pain? Felt like I was going back to the real world. In fact, the darkness with faint light soon felt like my eyelids.

"_Hey... His eyelids. He's gonna wake up!_"

I heard a voice... It sounded like... Fox? I began to feel. My body... it was resting on a bed. It felt like my consciousness returned. Did the meeting earlier... when I met my father and James... was it dream, or did I somehow reached the afterlife?

I opened my eyes slowly. It felt like they hadn't been opened for a long time. The blinding light from the ceiling light stunned me for a bit before I could finally clearly see. I temporarily blocked the light with my hand - which then caught my attention... MY FUR!

I did not hesitate to pull myself up. I rested my back on the wall and excitedly gazed on my arms. It was back to grey! "I'm... I'm back!"

"Well, without the eyepatch anyway!" a voice startled me. "Welcome back, Wolf."

"Leon!" I shouted out in glee. I was glad that he made it through. Beside him was Panther. "Panther! You guys are okay!"

Panther chuckled at me. "Well, not really. We ended up bleeding as well because we were nearly defeated, but thankfully they returned back to normal and sent us here." I nearly forgot that they were fighting a possessed Star Fox team. "Of course, we recovered quickly because we only had scrap wounds. Fox brought you here unconscious with deep wounds."

"I... I was out for how long?"

"A week. We thought you wouldn't make it because your vitals were going down, but you pulled through." I guess... I guess those hours I had with my father were those life and death situations during my coma. If anything, it was them that pushed me on to live.

I then looked at the person sitting on a chair far from the two. It was Fox, who was also back in his original fur. "General Peppy was finally able to find doctors who returned us to our old looks... Glad you made it, Wolf... If it wasn't for you, I... we..." His face was a bit flushed. "I couldn't imagine what would happened to us."

"Don't worry about it," I smiled back. I then remembered a lot of things that happened when I was pretending to be him. This snapped me back on what my father said. I didn't die because I was given a second chance. "Fox... I hope you wouldn't mind, but could I ask some privacy with my teammates for a while?"

"Oh sure, no problem." He took his exit to the door. Panther and Leon were looking at me with a clueless look.

"Panther, Leon... I'll be straight to you two," I began. It was hard to give it to them, because after all, our comradeship had lasted for many years. "I... I realized... during the days when I was Fox... and well... let's just say, during my coma... I had some... vision... that I need to finally decide on what to do with my life. I now understand how important other people are to me... and how others feel the same to me." I looked keenly at the two, who both still had that questioning face. "I'm... I'm gonna settle down in Corneria. I am going to give up my mercenary life to enjoy a more peaceful one. The extreme tension and suffering I had felt made me rethink of my life... that I had finally pushed myself too much that I am forgetting a lot of good things..."

"Wolf," Leon gasped. "So... it has come to this then?"

"Sorry, guys... I know we had fun as Star Wolf... but... well... If you want to, you two could still carry the name of the group and hire other people. I... I want to enjoy life now... something that I had been missing for a long time after being obsessed with rivalry and glory."

Panther suddenly protested, "Well, Star Wolf won't be Star Wolf without you!"

"Then change the name! Please, I don't want to-"

"-if you're settling down without us then you got us all wrong!" Leon growled with a grin. "We've been a duo together so I'll go where ever you are! And this cat here has begun to be a good... housecat... for our group so he better be coming with us!" Panther made a snarl before laughing. "If you're tired of this mercenary business, then we're tired too!"

"But guys... I want you to think for yourselves now."

"We are!"

I then realized that they were indeed one of the people that actually cared about me, and they were one of the people that I cared about. Our bond for each other was a lot more than just a team - we were friends.

-

A viewing tower was a tourist spot and a good place for people to hang around. I thought it was a good place for me to talk with Fox. I owe a lot to him and his point of view on everything I had, after all.

"So did you consider Peppy's job list?" Fox asked me.

I gazed at the beautiful horizon of the great Cornerian Bay. It was just as beautiful as the one I saw in my moments with my father and his father. "Yeah, we three would take the bar job. I think this place has fewer drunkards than those space station bars," I replied. "You know, I have repeatedly passed that bay, yet it took me now to only see its beauty..."

"The perspective made it look good," he answered. Yeah, perspective...

I whispered, "Thanks... again... for saving me... twice."

"What do you mean?"

"Aside from saving me from death, you... Let's just say, your experience towards other people... When I became you... I... I felt a strong force. I... I realized... how I need someone... other people... and I how I lack the appreciation of others..."

"Your teammates are."

"I know... and I had to be in your shoes just to knock my head into appreciating them... And Fox... your father... his..."

He cut me off. "I know he watches me."

"But how do you know?"

"It's a strong bond that we have. Even if he's gone, I could feel his presence. He guides me in my heart."

"I wish I felt that before... I wish I had that sense of passion in me," I chuckled softly. "I had to have a near-death experience just to give me that notion!"

"A what?"

His puzzled look made me chuckle.

"Nevermind! Hungry?"

"Yeah sure. Let's eat at the restaurant downstairs."


End file.
